Anne Griffiths

My inspiration comes from collections, ranging from those of museums which cross cultural, historical and natural science boundaries, to those of the individual, whether the discerning Victorian lepidopterist, the eccentric 'collectaholic' of memorabilia, or merely the accumulated bricolage of everyday life. We all have a primal urge to collect.

Historically a 'Cabinet of Curiosity' contained a collection of objects which refused to fit into any recognised system of taxonomy. It was a display of the wealth and education of the collector, found within the home and constantly rearranged to inspire awe and wonder.

Today, with increased mobility, technology and globalisation, the world has shrunk and we are able to place objects within a familiar context; their power to seduce and amaze is diminished however we still seek the curious either to set in our own display cases, or within online Pinterest galleries.

As the curator of my own collection, the modest, mundane, imperfect or impermanent is celebrated. The notions of value and preservation are accentuated with the use of foreign techniques such as the Japanese craft of Kintsugi, the Egyptian process of mummification or the Victorian art of taxidermy and connections between times, materials and culture are merged to provoke a sense of unexpected fascination.

Meticulous cataloguing systems, codes and phonetic symbols are utilised which position objects according to a multiplicity of characteristics, new sub-classes are created, connections overlap and curious juxtapositions occur. In essence, I seek to create something simultaneously small and intimate whilst still stiking and impressive, something beautiful as well as rough, something serious yet absurd.